


We were amateurs at war, strangers to suffering

by KennaWrites



Category: LEGO Nexo Knights
Genre: And Mess It Up, Angst, Badly, Constructive Criticism Welcome, Gen, Headcanon, Hurt No Comfort, I'm Sorry, Non-Graphic Violence, Post-Season/Series 04, Pre-Season/Series 05, Team as Family, That Moment When You Try To Protect People, The Major Character Death Part Anyway, This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think, Title from "Mars" by Sleeping At Last
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-20
Updated: 2018-10-20
Packaged: 2019-08-04 17:17:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16350860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KennaWrites/pseuds/KennaWrites
Summary: He had to get to them. Had to protect them. The thought swarmed his mind, creating nothing more than an echo chamber. Protect, protect, protect.





	1. Alarms will sound but it's too late for holy water now.

 

Clay’s vision blurred as the magic infused storm spun sheets of rain into a screen across the road. He straightened his stance as he turned slowly, searching for the slight glow of magic that accompanied _her_ whenever she used her power. Mud and water splashed his armor as he leaped away from the crackling blast of magic. “Are you that afraid of me that you’re trying to get rid of me?” He asked, veins crackling and burning with restrained power. His magic had grew stronger and harder to control when he didn’t use it for a while. He hadn’t been able to practice his magic with Merlok lately so it was a good thing that Robin’s inhibitor cuff was working well.

 

“I’m hardly afraid of you my son. Your power is meaningless next to mine besides this kingdom will crumble with or without you trying to protect it.” Her mocking voice was right in his ear and he spun to face her. “Why won’t you just leave?” He shouted, ignoring the frantic ticking from the band of metal around his wrist. “What?” She asked, tilting her head to the side, hand falling to rest by her side. “Why do you hate this kingdom so much? What did they do to you?” He asked, taking a step toward her. She raised her hand again and the wind shifted, his view of her blurring as she faded into the curtains of rain. “They’re the ones who made you what you are.” Her voice surrounded him and he held his sword and shield up as he walked toward where he thought her voice was the strongest. “Your precious teammates are the kin of cowards and murderers.” Her voice was in his ear.

 

He whirled, sweeping his sword up, the blade cutting through nothing but the rain. “Truly my brother’s nephew, so willing to try and kill his family. “What are you talking about?” Clay snapped, picking a direction and walking. He had to finish this or escape her magic’s hold, he had been fighting her to long and had no idea what was going on outside their battle. “You can’t escape my magic, son of mine. You failed to gather the Colossus’s power when you destroyed it. It belongs to me now.” She was all around him, her presence smothering and choking. He felt like he couldn’t breathe, falling to a knee as her aura crushed him. He gasped as it all disappeared, the blinding sheets of rain leaving with her.

 

Freezing, his gaze swept around him as he looked for his teammates. Aaron had his arm around Lance’s waist, holding him up. The blond’s helmet was missing and red spilled down the side of his face. Clay pushed himself to his feet, he could see Axl battering his way through a group of stone creatures as he got closer to Aaron and Lance. The lights of the Fortrex were barely visible in the rain and coming night. A war cry drew his attention to Macy as the redhead crushed another hapless statue.

 

Something drew his attention to his own surroundings and he dodged to the side with a startled yelp as a stone fist swung for his head. The band on his wrist sparked alarmingly as he slammed his shield against the monster’s face. Pulling back, he drove sword into the statue’s chest. It stiffened before shattering into stones and dust. He surveyed the area again, he couldn’t see any more of Ruina’s statues and behind him the sounds of battle were quieting down.

 

Panting slightly and looking down at his trembling hands, he tried to wrestle his magic back down. The inhibitor didn’t look like it would last much longer if he kept pushing it and he didn’t want to accidentally blast something… or someone. He’d almost fried his vehicle at one point because of his power. Ava had _not_ been happy.

 

His hair prickled and something inside him screamed at him to look up. Lifting his head, his eyes widened as he saw what was coming toward them. Magic. A wave of it heading straight for them. Bright, blue, and roaring like a wildfire. His mother’s presence was back, oppressive and crushing. She would destroy it all. His team, Merlok, the Fortrex, and even him.

 

He had to warn them. Had to protect them. That final thought filled his mind, repeating over and over, echoing in his head. Protect, protect, **_protect_**.

 

Scrambling to get his sword and shield on his back, he spun and ran toward the Fortrex. “Get inside and start the Fortrex, we need to leave!” He shouted in the communication system. His pulse thumped in his ears, a low crackling building in his veins.

 

Defend them.

 

Ignoring Merlok’s frantic questions from his helmets speakers, he reached Aaron, Lance, and Axl. Pausing for a moment, he helped Axl gather Lance up before watching the trio sprint toward the Fortrex. The rolling castle rumbling to life but it couldn’t outrun much with cold engines, let alone escape what was coming.

 

Defend them.

 

His hair stood on end as the magic rose up, curling like a wave, preparing to crash down on them. The comm system crackled in his ears as Ava spoke. “Macy’s still out there!” His heart stopped. Restarted. His gaze cast around as he looked for her, where was she? “I thought she was right behind us.” Aaron protested and Clay blinked, spotting the red armored knight.

 

Defend th-.

 

He knew she wouldn’t be able to get to safety in time, he couldn’t reach her in time. He had to protect his friends. His mother laughed in his ear. “This will break you.”

 

Defend-.

 

A sharp, searing pain shot up his arm and he knew the inhibitor cuff had broken. The wave rose up, curving down. He had to protect her. He brought his arm up.

 

Protect, protect, **_protect_**.

 

* * *

 

 

His eyes opened slowly, painfully. Ringing filled his ears and he sat up slowly. It had been a long time since he felt so drained, so empty. His friends’ voices became clearer and the ringing faded. Ava was shouting, fear clear in her tone. He felt like he should reassure her, it must have been bad if Ava was so upset. “How _could you_?!” Ava screamed and he looked up, confused as to what she was talking about. Ruina was gone, his magic had reached Macy. She should have been fine.

 

Mud splashed behind him and he looked over his shoulder. “Clay?” Aaron’s eyes were wide and his voice shook. “What’s wrong?” He asked, standing up shakily, facing Aaron and wincing as something crunched under his foot. A quick glance down revealed that it was the inhibitor cuff. “Look behind you.” Aaron’s voice was soft and he turned.

 

She was frozen, gray covering her entire form. His breath caught in his throat, choking him. He had wanted to protect her. This wasn’t protection. “I-I didn’t mean to.” The words tore from his throat like shards of glass and he felt sick. “And what did you mean to do?” Aaron asked, a hard edge to his tone as his crossbow whined, powering up. “I just wanted to protect her.” He whispered, turning to face Aaron. The redhead had level his crossbow at him, eyes narrowed and stance firm.

 

“Clay?” His eyes lifted beyond the tip of Aaron’s crossbow, finding Robin standing on the ramp of the Fortrex. The younger stared past him and Clay felt his shoulders curve in. “Macy?” Robin was quiet but through the helmet Clay could hear the hitch in his voice. Clay looked back toward the stone body of one of his best friends and heard a whisper.

 

It was far too quiet for anyone else to hear, almost too quiet to be real but he knew it was. “You’re my son and you can’t outrun what you were born to do.” His mother paused, her words an anchor pulling him down as he drowned. “You were born to destroy them.”

 

And then, Clay did something he hadn’t done in a long time, something he promised himself he would never do. He ran. Away from her empty gaze. Away from Aaron’s accusing voice and ready-to-fire crossbow. Away from all of it. He couldn’t protect them, all he seemed to do was destroy.


	2. Fault lines tremble underneath my glass house.

 

 

Ava stared blankly at the stone statue. It-no, she looked nothing like Clay did when he was petrified. He had looked like a memorial. This was a tragedy. A nightmare caught the split second after a volcano erupted and covered a city in ash. Her face was covered by the guard, a small mercy to Ava. She didn’t want to see her expression. Turning away, she slumped down at the foot of the statue, leaning back against the pedestal. Merlok had instantly demanded that she was placed in a protective shield inside the Fortrex. Only Ava or Merlok could take it down. Robin could too, she supposed. Merlok wouldn’t let what had happened to Clay happen to the kingdom’s heir.

 

Ava tensed. The kingdom. What had happened to Clay had been horrible but there was no one to call. No condolences to be given, only for a group of friends to mourn and try to carry on. Everyone who loved and knew him personally had watched it happen slowly, painfully, as they could do _nothing_. The King and Queen would have to be notified, they could likely find a way to undo the spell but who knew how long that would take. She cursed mentally, tipping her head back and ignoring the tears pooling in the corners of her eyes from the brightness of the lights. _(It had to be from the lights.)_

 

“He’s gone.” She tipped her head so she could see the door. Robin stood in it, shoulders slumped. “Aaron and Axl just reported in and are on their way back and Lance looked fine when I checked on him but.” Robin stopped, clearing his throat. “Merlok had gone quiet.” Ava nodded, getting to her feet. Robin picked at the cuff of his sweater, avoiding her gaze. She sighed, holding her arms out. Robin wandered over slowly, glancing up at her face before burying his head in her shoulder. She wasn’t good at comforting people, she knew this and just patted his back gently.

 

“I can’t do this again.” Robin murmured. “We have to.” Ava responded automatically, _pragmatically_ , she realized too late. Robin stepped back, rubbing his arm. “I hate this. This shouldn’t have ever been what we had to worry about.” He lifted his eyes to the statute. “I know.” Ava closed her eyes. None of them, not even the knights were really prepared for this. Robin was right. This shouldn’t have been their war.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter in a different POV. Goodnight folks and I will see you in December. Cheers!

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry about that.  
> I was planning on writing something for Aaron/Lance but I can't write romance to save my life so yeah. I just wanted to post something before I went on hiatus. I'm going to be gone from the time posting this to about mid-December. I should be done with NaNoWriMo and my finals around that time. This may be continued at that point but if anyone wants to pick up where I'm leaving off.... Feel free too! Just don't forget to credit this. I will still be available to answer questions if you comment them.


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